Refugees revive fading Italian villages

People from 20 different nations live in Riace village in Calabria, Italy. Nearly half of the current inhabitants are people who arrived on the shores of Italy from other countries. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Riace, Italy - As the continuous influx of refugees is seen as a cause for concern for many European nations, which are employing strict border controls to stop the unprecedented flow of people, one community in the southern Italian region of Calabria has taken a different perspective of the matter.

The village of Riace had seen its population drop from 2,500 to 400 since the 1990s, when people moved to northern Italy for better economic opportunities.

Domenico Lucano, Mayor of Riace, saw the flow of refugees in Italy as an opportunity. "We have been welcoming refugees with open arms for the past 15 years. [They have] saved our village," Lucano explained.

The resourceful mayor first acted on this opportunity in 1998, when a boat with 218 Kurdish refugees on their way to Greece got stranded on a beach in Riace. This is when Lucano first proposed that the refugees should stay in the village and take over the homes and apartments that had been left vacant by the migrating former residents of the town.

The mayor helped to facilitate the integration by establishing a "refugees welcome" project, which is now spreading through neighbouring towns.

Presently, people from 20 different nations live in Riace. Bakeries and workshops have re-opened. There is even a school for the children of the village.

The population of the village has bounced back to 2,500. The successes in the village have been noted in Rome, according to the mayor, and the Italian government has been promoting the settlement of refugees in other smaller, shrinking communities. The policy makes more economic sense than accommodating the refugees in reception or refugee camps.

The village is dotted with sculptures, graffiti and paintings representing the multicultural community. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

The population of the village has dropped from 2,500 to 400 since the 1990s, when people moved to northern Italy for better economic opportunities. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Domenico Lucano, 58, is the mayor of Riace. 'The basic idea of the Riace programmes is to give refugees a home and a job and to improve the local economy. This helps them and saves the village,' Lucano said. 'I dream of a world without borders,' he added. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

'It is a wonderful place to live. Everybody respects everybody,' said 20-year-old Stella from Ghana, who has been living in Riace for a year now. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Bahram Acar, 50, is Kurdish and came to Riace in 1998. 'From all the refugees who come to Riace, I am the one who has lived here the longest,' said Acar. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Like others who arrived from Africa to Europe, 20-year-old Esther crossed the Mediterranean. 'After all the chaos, I am very thankful that I have found this place where the atmosphere is as peaceful. I hope I can stay forever,' Esther says. She came to Riace four months ago from Nigeria. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

'I am happy that there is life in this village again,' said Raffaele Niciforo, 64, who was born in Riace. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Roawda, 38, from Somalia has 6 children and settled in the village five years ago. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Lucano , 58, has never travelled outside the Italian region of Calabria. 'The refugees who have settled in the village make life more interesting,' he said. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Giovanni Maiolo, 35, is a sociologist who worked in Riace with the refugees and has now became the director of a new similar project known as 'Refugees Welcome' in the neighbouring town of Gioiosa Ionica. 'After seeing that it can be successful to integrate migrants, many villages in Calabria follow the example of Riace,' said Mailolo. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Giuseppe Rigitano, left, 76, lived his whole life in Gioiosa Ionica, where he works as a blacksmith and artist. He has heard about the Riace programme and likes the idea to be implemented in his village. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Simona, 45, supports the new project. She owns an empty apartment which she rents out to the project, and four people are now living in her former home. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

Gamdad, centre, 22, from Afghanistan together with Semal Ali, left, 26 and Muhammad Mazhar, right, 22, from Pakistan live in an apartment in the centre of a small village in Calabria. They feel well-integrated. In their free time, they like to play cricket, a sport that is not common in Italy. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]

The ‘Riace Model’ is being closely observed by rest of the Europe according to the organisers of the resettlement programmes. [Thomas Bruckner/Al Jazeera]